David Cameron attacks 'despicable' Iran over missile shipments as he pledges 'unbreakable' support for Israel

Prime Minister says he is under no illusion about "hostile nature" of Iranian
regime and will give no inch to "amateur politicians" in Britain
calling for a boycott of Israeli goods

By Matthew Holehouse, Political Correspondent, Jerusalem

4:18PM GMT 12 Mar 2014

David Cameron has condemned Iran's "despicable" attempt to ship missiles for use against Israel, as he pledged to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the country in the face of terrorism.

Mr Cameron told Israel's Knesset he had no illusions about the hostile nature of the Iranian regime and said he would give no inch to "amateur politicians" in Britain who are calling for a boycott of Israeli goods.

He attacked the United Nations for "lecturing" Israel about human rights more than regimes such as North Korea and called for Britain to have the "strongest and deepest possible" relationship with the country.

In a speech peppered with colloquial Hebrew, Mr Cameron paid lengthy and warm tribute to the country's history, saying he had learnt he has a Jewish ancestor, but it is the issues of policy that will delight Israeli parliamentarians.

Advocates for the country in Britain were keen that Mr Cameron show he had not been "fooled" by Iran's participation in nuclear weapons talks, acknowledge Israel's security fears, condemn boycotts and acknowledge the country's identity as a Jewish state - all areas Mr Cameron touched on.

Mr Cameron's singling out of the Klos C incident, in which Israeli sailors intercepted an apparent missile shipment aimed to Gaza, will please Prime Minister Netenyahu, who accused European leaders including Baroness Ashton of turning a blind eye to it following an interim agreement designed to curb Israel's nuclear talks.

"On my last visit here I took a helicopter ride heading north over Israel," the Prime Minister said in a address at the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, in Jerusalem.

"Looking right to the Jordan River and left to the Mediterranean Sea, I really appreciated for the first time just how narrow and vulnerable this land is. A vulnerability that has already seen 38 missiles from Gaza this year alone.

"A vulnerability that just this week has seen the interception of the Klos C ship - yet another despicable attempt by the Iranians to smuggle more long-range rockets into Gaza. A vulnerability that has too often seen nearby Palestinian schools being named in honour of suicide bombers. It gave me a renewed understanding of what it must be like to be afraid in your own home.

"So let me say to you very clearly: with me, you have a British Prime Minister whose belief in Israel is unbreakable and whose commitment to Israel’s security will always be rock solid.

Mr Cameron said he "understands" the concern of Israelis who have seen areas it has withdrawn from under peace overtures turned into bases for terrorist attacks.

"I will always stand up for the right of Israel to defend its citizens. A right enshrined in international law, in natural justice and fundamental morality, and in decades of common endeavour between Israel and her allies."

Mr Cameron said he was "not starry-eyed" about the Iranian regime, despite hardline President Ahmadinejad being replaced by the more moderate Hassan Rouhani, and shared the Israeli government's "deep scepticism".

"A nuclear armed Iran is a threat to the whole world - not just to Israel and with Israel and all our allies, Britain will ensure that is never allowed to happen," he said.

He said the root cause of terrorism in the Middle East is not Israel but the solely the "warped and barbaric ideology" of Islamist extremism that wants to establish a caliphate across the Middle East, and

He said Britain would oppose any attempts to impose boycotts on Israel, including by academics on the country's universities.

"Whether it’s trade unions campaigning for the exclusion of Israelis or universities trying to stifle academic exchange Israel’s place as a homeland for the Jewish people will never rest on hollow resolutions passed by amateur politicians," he said,

He accused the United Nations of hypocrisy when it has ruled Israel violated international law, saying last year the general assembly passed "three times as many resolutions on Israel as on Syria, Iran and North Korea put together."

He wishes to see "an end to the outrageous lectures on human rights that Israel receives at the United Nations from the likes of Iran and North Korea."

The visit comes during a US-led peace process, which is at risk of petering out, in part because the Palestinian authorities refuse to acknowledge the state as the historic "homeland" of the Jews. The Israeli government says that recognition - demonstrating the nation is "legitimate" rather than an alien imposition on the region - must come before they can recognise any Palestinian state.

Mr Cameron's repeated reference to a "Jewish homeland" - a term Britain has shied away from using - will be seen as an clear endorsement of the Israeli position.

He urged the Israelis to focus on the benefits a peace deal withg the Palestinians will bring, including economic growth and security.

It is not Britain's job to "lecture" Israel about the peace process, he said. "People come to this Parliament from all over the world and talk about maps and population numbers and processes and deadlines. They tell you how to run your peace process. I will not do that," he said.

The beginning of the session was marked by heckling between members of the Knesset and towards Prime Minister Netenyahu. It comes amid a turbulent week in Israeli politics, with deep divisions over plans to draft Orthodox Jews into the Army and holding a referendum on any peace deal.

Mr Cameron joked he had "clearly come to the wrong place" if he wanted a "quiet afternoon" away from Prime Minister's Questions.

Mr Cameron's two-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories is his first in nearly four years in government - a delay that raised eyebrows in Britain.

Speaking to reporters beforehand, he said he was "very keen" to go but added: "It's always difficult to get things sorted out."